Red Family <붉은 가족> 2013

Directed by: Lee Joo-hyeong / 이주형

Release date: November 2013

To all appearances, they are a normal Korean family, perhaps more genteel and well-mannered than most, especially as compared to their loud, presumptuous, and quarreling neighbor family. Behind closed doors, the four are revealed: they are totally unrelated, highly trained, assassin-spies from North Korea who have infiltrated South Korea. But things don’t go as planned: first a close relationship begins to develop with the family next door, then their missions go awry. Will they be forced to kill their neighbors? Will their families back in the north be punished for their mistakes? Will they themselves survive punitive action from their handlers?

A film that had potential to be something, but it never figured out what it wanted to be. It tried being a black comedy, a drama, an action film, a social-commentary film; it just kept flopping and never getting settled down into any. The filmmakers lacked any clear vision and seemed to try a little bit of everything; it made the film an oddity to watch and a disappointment. 

My take: No stars

 

The commanding “comrade” (Kim Yoo-mi), excoriates her

underlings (Park So-yeong, Jeong Woo, and Son Byeong-ho)

when she discovers them indulging in some capitalist chocolate.